The present invention relates generally to a drawing device with interchangeable nibs, and more particularly, to a drawing device which senses its own movement and combines sensed movement data with nib information.
Pen-like devices have been described which mark a surface while simultaneously capturing their own movement relative to the surface. Some such devices sense their own movement using embedded accelerometers. Others sense their own movement by detecting information which is machine-readably encoded on the surface. In this latter category, see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,477,012, 5,652,412 and PCT application WO99/50787.
While these pen-like devices may support interchangeable pen cartridges with varying color and line width characteristics, they do not capture these characteristics with the movement data.
The present invention provides, in a first aspect, a sensing device for use with a surface, the sensing device including a motion sensor configured to generate movement data indicative of movement of the sensing device relative to the surface, a nib for marking the surface, the nib having associated nib information indicative of at least one surface-marking characteristic of the nib, and a transmitter for transmitting the movement data together with the nib information to a computer system.
The sensing device preferably includes a body portion and the nib is a separate component which is attachable to and detachable from the body portion.
The sensing device preferably includes an interrogating device for obtaining the nib information from the nib.
The surface-marking characteristic is preferably a nib shape, a nib size, a line width, a color, or a texture.
The nib preferably includes a storage device for storing the nib information.
The sensing device preferably includes a storage device for storing the nib information and the movement data.
The body portion of the sensing device is preferably in the shape of a pen and the nib is attachable to a longitudinal end portion of the pen.
The sensing device preferably includes a code sensor configured to generate, by sensing coded data disposed on the surface, location data indicative of a location of the sensing device relative to the surface, the coded data being indicative of at least one reference point of the surface, the motion sensor being configured to generate the movement data using the location data.
The coded data preferably includes a plurality of tags, each tag being indicative of a location of the tag on the surface.
The sensing device preferably includes a code sensor configured to generate, by sensing coded data disposed on the surface, identity data indicative of an identity of a region of the surface, the coded data being indicative of an identity of at least one region of the surface, the motion sensor being configured to include the identity data in the movement data.
The coded data preferably includes a plurality of tags, each tag being indicative of an identity of a region of the surface within which the tag lies.
The sensing device preferably includes at least one acceleration sensor configured to generate acceleration data indicative of acceleration of the sensing device as the sensing device moves relative to the surface, the motion sensor being configured to generate the movement data using the acceleration data.
The acceleration sensor is preferably configured to sense at least two substantially orthogonal components of acceleration.
The sensing device preferably includes an image sensor, the image sensor being configured to generate, by imaging the surface in the vicinity of the sensing device, image data, the motion sensor being configured to generate the movement data using the image data.
The nib information preferably includes nib style information which describes at least one surface-marking characteristic of the nib.
The nib information preferably includes a nib identifier, the computer system maintains nib style information which describes at least one surface-marking characteristic of the nib, and the nib style information is accessible using the nib identifier.
The nib information is preferably also indicative of a function associated with the nib.
The present invention provides, in a second aspect, a system for capturing a facsimile of a stroke made on a surface using a sensing device in accordance with the first aspect of the present invention, the system including the sensing device, and a computer system including a receiver configured to receive movement data and nib information from the sensing device, the computer system being configured to interpret the movement data and nib information as the facsimile of the stroke.
The system preferably includes a surface having coded data disposed upon it.
Features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments thereof, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.